Fence insulator with eccentric post-attaching means

ABSTRACT

An all plastic insulator has a body provided with two upwardly facing jaws and an intermediate resilient tongue projecting from one side thereof so as to grip and hold an electric fence wire. Projecting from the other side of the body are two vertically spaced ears having aligned holes therein. Between the two ears is placed an eccentric member which also has a hole therein as well as a cam surface that pressurally bears against the body when the eccentric member is rotated sufficiently by a handle or lever thereon. The camming action forcibly displaces the hole in the eccentric member with respect to the holes in the two ears, thereby forcing one wall portion of the hole in the eccentric member against the fence post and reactively forcing wall portions of the holes in the ears against the fence post to thus securely clamp the insulator at a desired elevation on the post.

[ May 15, 1973 [54] FENCE INSULATOR WITH ECCENTRIC POST-ATTACHING MEANS [76] Inventors: Albert T. Berg, Jr.; Howard Langlie,

both of Ellendale, Minn. 56026 [22] Filed: Aug. 2, 1972 [,21] Appl. No.: 277,294

[52] US. Cl. ..174/161 F, 174/163 F, 174/175,

248/70, 248/125, 248/296, 248/411 [51] Int. Cl. ..H0lb 17/16, A0lk 3/00 [58] Field of Search ..174/158 R, 158 F,

174/161 R, 161 F, 162, 163 R, 163 F, 175; 248/65, 70,106,122,124,125,161, 411, 157,186, 221, 226 R, 230, 245, 295, 296;

808,978 7/1951 Germany ..248/411 730,065 5/1955 Great Britain 754,049 8/1956 Great Britain 1,150,935 5/1969 Great Britain ..174/161 F Primary ExaminerLaramie E. Askin Attorney-Stuart R. Peterson 57] ABSTRACT An all plastic insulator has a body provided with two upwardly facing jaws and an intermediate resilient tongue projecting from one side thereof so as to grip and hold an electric fence wire. Projecting from the other side of the body are two vertically spaced ears having aligned holes therein. Between the two ears is placed an eccentric member which also has a hole therein as well as a cam surface that pressurally bears against the body when the eccentric member is rotated sufficiently by a handle or lever thereon. The camming action forcibly displaces the hole in the eccentric member with respect to the holes in the two ears, thereby forcing one wall portion of the hole in the eccentric member against the fence post and reactively forcing wall portions of the holes in the ears against the fence post to thus securely clamp the insulator at a desired elevation on the post.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FENCE INSULATOR WITH ECCENTRIC POST-ATTACHING MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to electric fence insulators and pertains more particularly to a fence insulator capable of being clamped to a fence post by simply rotating an eccentric member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of the invention is to provide an electric fence insulator of simple construction that can be quickly clamped to a fence post at the proper height. More specifically, an aim of the invention is to provide an insulator utilizing an eccentric member that requires only a partial twisting or rotation to forcibly displace such member with respect to the body of the insulator and thereby clamp the insulator securely to the fence post at the proper height.

Another ob ject of the invention is to provide a simple electric fence insulator that can be inexpensively fabricated and which lends itself readily to conventional molding techniques. Consequently, it is within the purview of the invention to provide a fence insulator that can be manufactured entirely of plastic, such as linear polyethylene.

Briefly, our invention comprises a plastic body having two wire-gripping jaws and an intermediate resilient tongue projecting from one side thereof and two vertically spaced ears projecting from a vertical surface at the other side thereof, the ears having vertically aligned holes therein. Between the ears is positioned an eccentric member also having a hole therein, the eccentric member having a cam surface so that when the member is rotated, its cam surface bears against the vertical surface on the body to displace the eccentric member with respect to the ears, thereby clamping the insulator to the fence post.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing our insulator clamped to a round post, the insulator being shown as holding a section of the electric fence wire that is to be maintained inan insulated relationship with the post;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view showing The insulator just "prior to clamping it against the post;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view taken from the left in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view corresponding to FIG. 2 but with the eccentric member rotated through an angle sufficient to effect the clamping action.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As denoted generally by the reference numeral 10, our electric fence insulator has been illustrated in FIG. 1 as being clamped to a round post 12. The wire to be held or retained has been indicated by the reference numeral 14. Both the post 12 and the wire 14 are only fragmentarily presented.

The insulator is constructed entirely of linear polyethylene, this being a preferred dielectric material for fence insulators. The present insulator lends itself readily to conventional molding techniques. Further, it should be kept in mind that the entire insulator 10 can be fabricated of plastic, thus obviating the need for any metallic parts.

Accordingly, the insulator 10 includes a box-like body 16 that is open at the bottom. The body 16 is provided with a vertical face plate 18 at the front thereof. Extending integrally from the face plate 18 are two upwardly directed hook-shaped jaws 20, 22 and an intermediate tongue 2A. The intermediate tongue 24 is sufficiently resilient so that it can be flexed upwardly by the wire 14 to permit the insertion thereof; this member then returns to a wire-retaining position.

The insulator 10 is provided with a rear wall 26 having a vertical flat surface 28. Projecting from the vertical surface 28 are two vertically spaced ears 30 and 32, each having a hole 34 therein of sufficient size so as to accommodate a longitudinal section of the fence post 12.

Playing an important role in association with the apertured ears 30, 32 is an eccentric member 36 having a hole 38 extending therethrough as shown in dotted outline in FIG. 3. The eccentric member 36 is formed with a curved or cam surface 40 which bears against a portion of the vertical surface 28 located between the ears 30, 32. The eccentric member 36 is further equipped with a handle or lever 42 by means of which it canbe rotated through an appropriate angle, such as the angle existing between the position depicted in FIG. 2 and that depicted in FIG. 4.

In attaching our insulator 10, the lower ear 32 is first placed over the upper end of the fence post 12. With the eccentric member 36 sandwiched in between the lower ear 32 and the upper ear 30, the hole 38 therein I can also be placed over the upper end of the post 12 as the body 16 is lowered. Still further, as the body 16 is lowered, the hole 34 in the upper ear 30 is moved downwardly. Thus, the insulator 10 is in readiness for mounting at the proper elevation on the post 12. All that need be done is rotate the eccentric member 36, this being done via the handle 42. The angle through which the handle 42 is moved will vary depending upon the diameter of fence post 12. Assuming that the fence post 12 is relatively large in diameter with respect to the several holes 34, 38, then only a small angle of rotation is needed. On the other hand, if there is consider able clearance between the side walls of the holes 34 in the ears 30 and 32 and the wall of hole 38 in the eccentric member 36, then obviously a greater amount of angular movement of the handle 42 is needed.

What transpires is that a side wall portion of the hole 38 in the eccentric member 36 bears against one side of the round post 12. As the camming surface 40 advances, the eccentric member 36 is forcibly displaced so that the opposite side wall portions of the holes 34 in the ears 30, 32 bear against the opposite side of the post 12. The forceful shifting of the eccentric member 36 thus clamps the entire insulator 10 tightly against The wire 14 can be attached before or after the insu- I lator 10 is clamped to the post 12 as described above. As pointed out hereinbefore, the tongue 24 is sufficiently resilient to permit the wire 14 to be inserted into the jaws 20, 22.

We claim:

1. An electric fence insulator comprising a body having a hole therein for accommodating a section of fence post, an eccentric member also having a hole therein for accommodating a section of said post, said eccentric member having a cam surface engageable with a portion of said body when said eccentric member is rotated sufficiently so as to relatively displace said holes and thus clamp said body to said post.

2. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 1 including an ear, said body hole being in said ear.

3. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 2 including a second ear spaced vertically beneath said first ear and having a hole vertically aligned with the hole in the ear thereabove, said eccentric member being located between said ears.

4. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 3 in which said body has a vertical surface, said ears projecting from said vertical surface and said cam surface being engageable with said vertical surface at a location between said ears.

5. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 4 in which at least said body is of dielectric material.

6. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 5 in which said dielectric material is plastic.

7. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 6 in which said plastic is polyethylene.

8. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 7 in which said eccentric member includes a handle by which said eccentric member can be rotated.

9. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 8 in which said eccentric member is also of dielectric material.

10. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 9 in which the material constituting said eccentric member is also polyethylene. 

1. An electric fence insulator comprising a body having a hole therein for accommodating a section of fence post, an eccentric member also having a hole therein for accommodating a section of said post, said eccentric member having a cam surface engageable with a portion of said body when said eccentric member is rotated sufficiently so as to relatively displace said holes and thus clamp said body to said post.
 2. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 1 including an ear, said body hole being in said ear.
 3. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 2 including a second ear spaced vertically beneath said first ear and having a hole vertically aligned with the hole in the ear thereabove, said eccentric member being located between said ears.
 4. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 3 in which said body has a vertical surface, said ears projecting from said vertical surface and said cam surface being engageable with said vertical surface at a location between said ears.
 5. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 4 in which at least said body is of dielectric material.
 6. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 5 in which said dielectric material is plastic.
 7. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 6 in which said plastic is polyethylene.
 8. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 7 in which said eccentric member includes a handle by which said eccentric member can be rotated.
 9. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 8 in which said eccentric member is also of dielectric material.
 10. An electric fence insulator in accordance with claim 9 in which the material constituting said eccentric member is also polyethylene. 